More than just a component in Edo Castle’s defense structure, the outer moat was also a verdant, waterside leisure space much loved by city residents. Depictions of the outer moat were frequently included in Tokugawa-era collections of woodblock prints. One famous collection entitled the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, which was composed between 1856 and 1858 by the artist Hiroshige, includes a print depicting the outer moat and bustling, moat-side cityscape in the vicinity of Ichigaya’s Hachiman Gate. In a separate collection entitled Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji from 1858, Hiroshige depicts a cargo-filled boat passing under the outer moat’s Ochanomizu Acqueduct. This tells us that the moat was also a functional space used to transport goods around the city. After the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the outer moat continued to be considered a scenic area and a residential district was constructed on the moat’s Shinjuku side. Following the construction of the Köbu Railway in 1894, the Railway and surrounding outer moat area frequently came to be featured in postcards. In 1911, the authorities presented a plan to preserve Edo Castle’s outer moat as a public park. Specifically, the plan called for the construction of a pedestrian walkway along the embankment extending from Ushigome to Kuichigai. The plan came to fruition in 1927 with the construction of Tokyo’s Dote City Park, which extended from Ushigome to Shinmitsuke Bridge. For more information about the Kōbu Railway and Ushigome Moat’s modern development, please visit the history plaza on the second floor.
駅前から外濠線の市ヶ谷見附停留所までは牛込見附や新見附同様に坂道をくだるが、濠を渡る道が傾斜状をなしているのは以上の三見附だけで、そのあたりから濠外の地勢は隆起しはじめる。 市ケ谷見附の濠外の正面には靴屋があって、「ヤスイカラヨクウレル。ウレルカラナホヤスイ」と書いた看板が眼をひいた。あのキャッチ・フレーズには大正ムードがみなぎっていたとおもうが、大正時代を誤解してもらってはこまる。花屋の飾窓にはSay it with flowerというような金文字もみられた。チュウインガムはリグレイ、コーンビーフはリビイ、乾葡萄はサンメイド、果物の罐詰はS&Wなどの製品を私たちは食べていた。 市ヶ谷見附のつぎの停留所は本村町であった……